Below is the only photo reportedly in existence of Dza Patrul Rinpoche (1808 - 1887). May it serve to liberate upon sight! A Bodhisattva, Patrul Rinpoche is best known as the author of Words of My Perfect Teacher --- the consummate commentary on the Longchen Nyingthik and an exemplary text lauded by all schools of Vajrayana.

An incarnate lama who chose the life of a wandering beggar rather than being pinned down as the abbot of the monastery he traditionally led, Patrul Rinpoche would often teach others not to judge a book by its cover. People would treat him a certain way, thinking him a lowly person, only to find out later that he was the visiting lama who had come to give teachings.

In this way he emulated the great sage and Mahasiddha Shantideva, whose reincarnation many believed him to be. Patrul Rinpoche's only possession other than the clothes on his back was his copy of Shantideva's magnum opus, the Guide to Entering the Bodhisattva's Path, and it was his widespread teaching of this text wherever he went which is credited for the Bodhicharyavatara being so well known amongst Tibetans.

"The Sutras, Tantras, and Philosophical Scriptures are great in number. However life is short, and intelligence is limited, so it's hard to cover them completely. You may know a lot, but if you don't put it into practice, it's like dying of thirst on the shore of a great lake. Likewise, a common corpse is found in the bed of a great scholar." ~ Karma Chagme

"Several websites feature a photograph purported to be of Patrul Rinpoche, but according to Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche when this same photo was shown to Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche he said that it is not Patrul Rinpoche himself, but one of his incarnations."

"Several websites feature a photograph purported to be of Patrul Rinpoche, but according to Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche when this same photo was shown to Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche he said that it is not Patrul Rinpoche himself, but one of his incarnations."

Oy. Thank you for pointing this out. Wasn't sure it was the same photo in question, as this one was only posted 2 hours ago. Looking at the entry on Rigpa Wiki, it's certainly the same photo in question.

Maybe we can turn this thread into an investigation of who the photo is really of? Perhaps Khenpo Kunpal?

"The Sutras, Tantras, and Philosophical Scriptures are great in number. However life is short, and intelligence is limited, so it's hard to cover them completely. You may know a lot, but if you don't put it into practice, it's like dying of thirst on the shore of a great lake. Likewise, a common corpse is found in the bed of a great scholar." ~ Karma Chagme

Are there drawings or paintings of Patrul Rinpoche we can refer to? I don't know why, I've always had an image of him in my mind's eye and when I saw this photo it didn't seem to fit. . wonder if my mental vision would accord with any representations of the original Patrul if they exist.

Contentment is the ultimate wealth;Detachment is the final happiness. ~Sri Saraha

Adamantine wrote:Are there drawings or paintings of Patrul Rinpoche we can refer to? I don't know why, I've always had an image of him in my mind's eye and when I saw this photo it didn't seem to fit. . wonder if my mental vision would accord with any representations of the original Patrul if they exist.

actually the Shantidevas work was already very known in tibet in 3-4 centuries before Patrul Rinpoche but 3-4 centuries before Patrul Rinpoche the Shantidevas work became almost extinct in tibet, it was very rare to study it and it was found only in few monasteries. And what Patrul Rinpoche accomplished was to make the Shantidevas work re flourish in tibet, he brought it back to life.

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

KonchokZoepa wrote:actually the Shantidevas work was already very known in tibet in 3-4 centuries before Patrul Rinpoche but 3-4 centuries before Patrul Rinpoche the Shantidevas work became almost extinct in tibet, it was very rare to study it and it was found only in few monasteries. And what Patrul Rinpoche accomplished was to make the Shantidevas work re flourish in tibet, he brought it back to life.

I wasn't trying to say that the text wasn't known at all. The truth is far from that. In fact, the text was authored around the same time Buddhism was first entering Tibet in any real way via Guru Rinpoche, Shantarakshita, their disciples and the first great translators.

Padmakara Translation Group wrote:According to tradition, The Way of the Bodhisattva was first translated into Tibetan in the eighth century by the Indian master Sarvajñadeva and the Tibetan translator Kawa Peltsek, using a manuscript from Kashmir. It was later reworked during the eleventh century by the pandita Dharmashribhadra and the translator Rinchen Zangpo, on the basis of a manuscript and commentary from Magadha. A final revision was made by the pandita Sumatakirti and the translator Ngok Loden Sherab.

Based on that, the Bodhicharyavatara may well have been one of the first shastras translated into the Tibetan canon.

What I meant to say was that Patrul Rinpoche made knowledge of it widespread (i.e. giving teachings to people from all different walks of life, not just monastics). The Bodhicharyavatara was most assuredly well-known to monastics who had entered shedra (monastic college). It is, to this day, one of the first texts studied in shedras of all schools of Vajrayana. But beyond that sphere, it was likely not known to the "average" Tibetan layperson before Patrul Rinpoche's work in bringing it to the masses.

As you said, in Patrul Rinpoche's time there was a danger of certain texts gathering dust or their memories and oral traditions being lost altogether.

[...] at a time when many essential teachings were falling into disuse and unfamiliarity, Patrul Rinpoche taught the Bodhicharyavatara so often that he inspired most of the commentaries on it in the second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. Thanks to him, Shantideva's work became one of the texts most studied and practiced in the whole of eastern Tibet.

~ "The Text and the Translation," The Way of the Bodhisattva

"The Sutras, Tantras, and Philosophical Scriptures are great in number. However life is short, and intelligence is limited, so it's hard to cover them completely. You may know a lot, but if you don't put it into practice, it's like dying of thirst on the shore of a great lake. Likewise, a common corpse is found in the bed of a great scholar." ~ Karma Chagme

If the thought of demons Never rises in your mind, You need not fear the demon hosts around you. It is most important to tame your mind within....

In so far as the Ultimate, or the true nature of being is concerned, there are neither buddhas or demons. He who frees himself from fear and hope, evil and virtue, will realize the insubstantial and groundless nature of confusion. Samsara will then appear as the mahamudra itself….

"The Sutras, Tantras, and Philosophical Scriptures are great in number. However life is short, and intelligence is limited, so it's hard to cover them completely. You may know a lot, but if you don't put it into practice, it's like dying of thirst on the shore of a great lake. Likewise, a common corpse is found in the bed of a great scholar." ~ Karma Chagme

The big caption: The great completely fulfilled and perfectly realized one: Something-Wisdom Rimpoche. The small letters a little too small to read, say something like Serene Heaven Bodhisattva, the great completely realized one, summer tiles heat, something about being avalokiteshvara number three for the sake of benefitting beings, thus manifesting, that particular kalyana-mitra, i.e. "Good Spritual Guide", his image, exclamation point...It was alternate character. Something-Wisdom Rimpoche is "Flower-Wisdom" Rinpoche, but it also could just as easily be translated as "Chinese Wisdom" rimpoche, which might make sense as a nickname cuz he totally looks chinese, not tibetan...

A bodhisattva does not become weary of evil beings nor does he commit the error of bringing forth thoughts inclined to reject them and cast them aside. Avatamsaka Sutra, ch. 25

yegyal wrote:there's also this one that has been floating around for years.

According to Rigpawiki this photo is:

Tsö Patrul Rinpoche aka Patrul Rinpoche Kunzang Shenpen Özer of Tsö (twentieth century) — a student of Adzom Drukpa and an immediate reincarnation of Patrul Rinpoche, born near Repkong in Tsö, Amdo. He was born to the niece of Thupten Chökyi Dorje, the great 5th Dzogchen Rinpoche, and recognized and enthroned by that sublime master.

Contentment is the ultimate wealth;Detachment is the final happiness. ~Sri Saraha

Will wrote:It was alternate character. Something-Wisdom Rimpoche is "Flower-Wisdom" Rinpoche, but it also could just as easily be translated as "Chinese Wisdom" rimpoche, which might make sense as a nickname cuz he totally looks chinese, not tibetan...